


Twice Upon a Dream

by Paige_Turner36



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 6x01 Fix-It, AU Season 6, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Romance, The Dark Castle (Once Upon a Time), The Dark Realm (Once Upon a Time), The Dream Realm (Once Upon a Time), The Savior (Once Upon a Time), True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 08:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14613759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paige_Turner36/pseuds/Paige_Turner36
Summary: When Rumple enters Belle’s dreams he’s greeted by Morpheus. But why is the God of Dreams so keen to help him wake Belle and get them back together? 6x01 Fix-It.





	Twice Upon a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I think we all can agree that what we got in that episode was shit. We got suckered in (again) with the Beauty and the Beast dance in the promo, and got stabbed in the back (again). 
> 
> So, here it is. After years of false starts and prompting others, my first ever fic. I really hope you like it.
> 
> Inspired by this gif: https://virgidearie.tumblr.com/post/151098971056/true-loves-kiss-i-dont-acknowledge-anything (I don’t acknowledge anything else as canon either…). 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT. This is for fun and not for profit.

Rumple poured the sands into his hand. He sprinkled them over his sleeping beauty, throwing the last of it over himself. His vision blurred as the temple vanished around him. He closed his heavy eyes and felt as if he were being lifted out of his body though his feet were still firmly on the ground. He obeyed the pull without resistance, knowing it would lead him to Belle and allowed his remaining defences to drop as he succumbed.

He opened his eyes. At first all he saw were the glittering golden sands in the air. When it cleared he found he was in, not the mirror room as he’d expected, but a sunlit forest. There was no sign of Belle. Rumple looked all around him. Belle had to be here, this was her dream. Unless Hyde had tricked him? What if Rumple wasn’t in Belle’s dream but his own?

A rustle behind him made him turn sharply. He wasn’t alone after all, a young man stood before him. A tall man who would’ve towered over him if they stood close together. He was dressed in long golden robes. He was also smiling, his brown eyes holding no ill intent. Rumple didn’t know who he was but he knew, dream or not, that this man wasn’t a threat. Though he felt strangely drawn to him, that unsettled him.

“Who are you?” Rumple asked.

“I’m Morpheus,” the young man replied. “Welcome to Belle’s Dreamworld. Are you ready to wake her up?”

Straight to the point, that makes a change.

“That’s why I’m here,” said Rumple.

“Good. Follow me.”

Morpheus led Rumple through the trees. As they walked Rumple began to recognise the route they were taking. “Ah. Here we are.”

Rumple looked to where he was staring. There in the distance was a building he knew very well. Last time he was there he had been sitting in a cage, driven half mad by sharing his mind with his dying son, under the control of the witch responsible for his death. Who was now accepted into the heroes circle and who had tricked Belle into putting herself under this curse, making her think she was protecting their child when in actuality was to hurt him. Zelena would fit in just fine.

“My castle?” said Rumple, forgetting the green bitch for a moment. “Why would Belle dream of this place?”

“Usually, our dreams pick _us_ , not the other way around,” said Morpheus. “But the place where your True Love was born? I call that a good sign.”

Yes, that had to be a sign. This was the place where Belle chipped the teacup that had become the symbol of their love. The hours spent spinning while she read in the chaise. The day she ripped down the curtains and fell into his arms, letting the light in. Where they shared True Loves Kiss. Hope bloomed inside his chest, that lasted until they were at the castle doors and stepped inside.

The Dark Castle was dark. The walls were blacken as were the vase of roses on the table that had once been red. Dread and hopelessness hung in the air like some thick invisible noxious gas that tingled with dark magic.

“Rumplestiltskin.”

Belle was there, standing beside the tall mirror, dressed in the blue dress she’d worn during her stay here. Against the blackness of the great hall she seemed to glow. Rumple’s heart leapt at the sight of her. He’d found her! He opened his mouth to speak but froze, staring at his reflection in the mirror. The Dark One stared back at him; scales, taloned nails, big amber eyes, long curtains of curly hair and dressed not in his suit but his black leathers. He looked at his real hands. They were human.

“I–I didn’t think you’d be back from your journey so soon,’ Belle stammered. “Uh, don’t be angry, but I don’t have the tea prepared. I–I can have some ready in no time.”

Rumple was so shocked by his reflection that he almost missed what she said and drew his gaze back to her. Belle looked scared he might attack her; she was twisting her hands together, her whole body radiated fear. Before he could ask her what was going on or reassure her, she turned and hurried away.

“Let her go,” said Morpheus gently as Rumple made to follow her. “She’s lost in the dream. In her mind, she’s still a servant, and you’re still a beast.”

And in her mind he stood before her as the Dark One. Rumple watched her retreating back, his heart breaking for her. Belle didn’t deserve this.

“My Belle was never afraid,” Rumple said softly. 

Belle was brave, stubborn, impulsive and so many things, but never afraid. Even afraid she was brave. He turned towards a pile of children’s shoes. _And you will skin the children I hunt for their pelts. That one was a quip. Not serious_.

“Look, I know my castle wasn’t exactly cheery, but it was never like this,” he said irritably.

“It’s a curse, it’s not designed for pleasant dreams,” said Morpheus, sharing his disdain for the inconsistencies. “Not least it being the Wicked Witch’s own brew. The sleeping curse is meant to trap you with your regrets. Zelena’s traps you with your fears. Belle’s fears and doubts amplified and distorted into a twisted version of the truth. Brave as she is, Belle was scared when she first came here. The castle terrified her so in her dreams, it’s become a terrifying place. And she’s trapped in its thrall. Only her True Love can set her free.”

“Her father refused unless I was gone for good. I tried to kiss her in the Underworld. It didn’t work.” Fear and doubt gripped him, dragging him under, drowning what little hope still remained. “What if we aren’t True Love anymore? What if we never were -”

“No!” Morpheus spoke so loudly and sharply it made Rumple jump, jerking him from his thoughts. “Don’t get sucked into the dream and don’t listen to the voices in your head. Maurice’s kiss would never have worked. A father who would put pride above their own child, who would leave them trapped in eternal hell, is no father at all. Gods knows what he would’ve done if he knew she was with child.”

“And mine?” Rumple asked.

“The same reason the Charming’s kiss didn’t work when they were Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan.”

“They were both cursed.”

Morpheus nodded. “Sleeping curse plus Dark One, like two repelling magnets. Even then, you were in the Underworld. Hades world, his rules. I don’t think he appreciated you making him destroy the contract in public. That’s why you came into her dreams. And I’m afraid you don’t have long.”

“What do you mean?”

“The sands that allow passage to Belle’s dream will not last forever.” Morpheus conjured an hourglass and placed it on the table. “If you don’t wake Belle within one hour, she will be sent back into the hall of mirrors. And before long, the red room of the sleeping curse…a most horrid, fiery fate. And there she will remain. Alone. Forever. And your child will never be born.”

Rumple swallowed. There was so much at stake and the odds were stacked against him, including time. This was worse than waking from the coma after six weeks fighting for his life, powerless and suddenly being demanded to be the purest hero who ever lived. And look how that turned out for him.

“What if I fail?” Rumple asked in a small voice, like a frightened child, tears forming in his eyes.

Morpheus smiled. “With your family on the line? I don’t believe you have it in you to fail. You just crossed realms and broke down the barriers of dreams to be with your wife. Rumplestiltskin is a force to be reckoned with when his family is threatened.”

No scorn, not patronising, no guilt tripping, this man genuinely believed that. He believed that Rumple could save Belle.

“It won’t be easy,” he warned him. “It’s not just dream-Belle you need to convince that this isn’t real, that your love isn’t a lie.”

“Of course I love her!” said Rumple passionately. “That’s how I’m gonna get her out of here. I’ll make her fall in love with me again. This is the place we fell in love. If I can recreate the moment…”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“It will. My feelings for Belle are true. My love for her and my child will never be a lie. I’d give my life for them. I’ll take on the sleeping curse myself if it will free them. I’ll do whatever it takes. Even if it means…”

Morpheus’s eyes widened. “…breaking your curse. You’d be powerless,” he reminded him.

“What’s the point of power if I have no one to protect?” said Rumple quietly.

“Is this what you want?”

“All I want is Belle. To save her…I would do anything.”

Morpheus looked stunned – no, overwhelmed by Rumple’s declaration. Then he smiled. Was he welling up? “There’s the real Rumplestiltskin. Loving husband. Devoted father.”

“My family are everything to me. They’re all that matters to me.”

Morpheus nodded and tilted his head in the direction Belle had vanished. “Then save them.”

Rumple strode purposefully over to the dining room. But at the door he stopped and looked back at the God of Dreams. “Why do you want us together? What do you get out of it?”

For once Morpheus looked nervous and shuffled his feet, almost like a child than a God. It was a fair question. Finally he said, “Let’s just say…I’m invested in your future.”

And then he was gone.

 

Belle was pouring tea when Rumple entered his old dining room. He no longer looked like Mr Gold but his imp-self. The room was just as dark and bleak as the rest of the castle. The curtains were closed and the cage in which he had been imprisoned stood amongst his collection. Was that one of Belle’s regrets? That she couldn’t save him?

Belle looked up from where she was pouring and started at the sight of him, the smooth flow of tea jostled as the teapot shook in her trembling hand. “Rumplestiltskin,” she said in a rush, “I-I’m so sorry, I-I’ve almost got the tea ready -”

She gasped as she lost her grip on the teacup. In the blink of an eye Rumple materialised at her side, the teacup caught safely in his hand.

“It’s all right,” Rumple reassured her in his high pitched imp voice, holding it up to her. “See? It’s not even chipped.”

Belle breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t raging at her for her clumsiness or threatening to turn her into a toad. “Th-thank you.”

She took the cup, her fingers brushing his skin. She felt so solid it was hard to believe it was a dream. His skin tingled at her touch. They held the cup between them. She didn’t pull away. They looked into each other’s eyes.

“I-I think you’ve done enough for one day,” said Rumple nervously, as if this really was like the old days in the Dark Castle. “Why don’t you take a break?”

He eyed a gramophone on a plinth and inspiration struck. Rumple snapped his fingers and the gramophone began to play the tune they’d danced to on their honeymoon.

Belle looked thoroughly confused. “Rumplestiltskin, what’s going on? This…this isn’t like you.”

“I have a ball to attend later and I’m a bit rusty. Will you help me practice?” Rumple asked, playfully miming dancing with an invisible woman.

Belle smiled briefly at his silliness. “I wasn’t aware I had any choices here.”

“You do,” Rumple assured her.

He held out his hand, inviting her to take it. Belle hesitated and then took it. Rumple curled his fingers delicately around her hand. Belle placed her free hand on his shoulder; he placed his on her waist and started to dance. They waltzed around the room, eyes locked, the music playing in the background. Rumple sensed rather than saw the change, enraptured by Belle. The room began to fill with light as Belle started to relax. The surface of the table shone, the trinkets glittered, the curtains vanished letting in the light. The light even returned to Belle’s eyes and a small smile appeared on her face. She was enjoying herself as they revolved around the sunlit dining room.

“You’re doing wonderfully well,” Rumple complimented. “There’s just…” he stepped away from her, surprising Belle at the loss of contact, “…one thing we need.”

Rumple snapped his fingers and giggled with excitement as Belle’s blue maid outfit was replaced by an elegant golden ball gown. Belle gasped and stared at him in wonder. There was no fear there now.

“What has come over you?” she asked.

“Maybe I’m tired of being a beast,” said Rumple. “One more dance?”

Belle smiled and took his offered hand again without hesitation. As the music swelled Rumple spun Belle who turned with the grace of a ballerina and, far too quickly for their liking, it stopped. Rumple and Belle stopped dancing but they didn’t pull apart. He would’ve happily spent an eternity looking at his smiling Belle, but time was of the essence.

Belle looked at the suddenly shining dining room restored to its former glory. “Everything’s so much lighter.”

“It has been, since you arrived, Belle.”

“When do you leave for your ball?” Belle asked, slightly forlorn as if she hoped to dance for longer.

Rumple sighed, his hands sliding down to take her hands, wanting to hold her a few seconds more. “There isn’t.” He released her, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together nervously. “Forgive me. I just…really wanted to dance with you. I feared you wouldn’t want to. Beautiful women don’t like to dance with monsters.”

“You think I’m beautiful?”

Rumple nodded, smiling. “Oh yes. Eclipsed only by your intelligence, bravery and kind heart. You’ve made my castle, my life, brighter. Chased away all the darkness. When I’m with you…I don’t feel so ugly.”

Belle looked flattered, almost grateful that Rumple saw more than beauty in her worth. “You’re not ugly,” she said, and she meant it.

He smiled faintly. “I fear my wife and the rest of the human race would strongly disagree with you.”

Rumple moved to lean against the table.

“You’ve lived here alone for so long.”

“I haven’t always been alone. I wasn’t always like this. There was a son.”

“A son?”

“Baelfire. I became the Dark One to save him. But it cost me my soul. And then it cost me my boy.”

Belle joined him at the table, listening to his story.

“What happened?”

“He died.”

“I’m so sorry.” Belle paused and then asked, with an air that she already knew the answer, “Why did you want me here?”

“I was lonely,” Rumple answered truthfully, so sad and so tired. “You’ve no idea how hard it is to remain in control of this curse. All my life I’ve always sort out people who are light.” He turned to smile at Belle. “Like you.”

Belle smiled back.

“And now you must leave,” said Rumple heavily, standing up and walking away. Belle looked surprised and a little hurt at the abrupt dismissal. Unseen by either, Morpheus who was watching from afar and who had been smiling throughout the proceedings, was just as taken aback. And a little bit worried.

“W-what?” said Belle, rising to her feet.

“I release you. You’re no longer my prisoner. You haven’t been for a long time.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

Rumple turned to look at her. Was it the tortured look of anguish on his face that made her look shocked and worried? “I want you to be here because you want to be. Not because you were forced to, or because of some deal, or sense of obligation. There’s a whole world out there, Belle, for you. Go live your dream. Have adventures in the great wide somewhere. Slay dragons. Solve mysteries. Save people who are worth saving. Be a hero. Have a good life. For me.”

Belle looked towards the tall window and the world beyond. Rumple could see the longing in her expression. He had quite literally given her the world.

“I did want to see the world,” she admitted. “But it’s not really an adventure if you’ve no one to share it with.” She turned back to Rumple, smiling. “Maybe there’s a more thrilling adventure right here. A mystery, wrapped in enigma, wrapped in leather. And what about you?” she asked anxiously. “You’ll be alone.”

“It’s better this way.”

“For who?”

“You won’t get hurt.”

“You won’t be loved either.” 

“It’s not my heart I’m protecting.”

Belle stared at him.

“I’m not a hero, Belle. There’s no cursed Prince under all these scales. If you’re expecting all that? I’m afraid you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

Rumple took a deep breath and spread out his arms slightly, as if introducing himself.

“I’m the son of a coward who traded his own son for eternal youth because he didn’t want me. I hobbled myself on the battlefield, was branded a coward, so that my son wouldn’t grow up without a father. My wife would rather I’d died than live with the shame. She ran off with another man – a pirate – leaving me to raise my son alone in a village that hated me. I’m lame. Friendless. All I had was my boy…and they tried to take him away from me, to fight in a war where he’d surely die. I became the Dark One to save him and end the Ogres War, to make up for my cowardice. But it corrupted me. Then power became so important that I couldn’t let go. And my son left. He saw the darkness in my soul. I had a chance to change for him, but…I was too frightened to stop it. He grew up in another land alone.

“You want a Handsome Hero, Belle. Brave, handsome, strong, perfect, a good man worthy of your love. That’s not me. When I try to do good it backfires. Beneath all this magic I’m not worth much. And you deserve the best. I’m not the man you thought I was, Belle. I’m not that man, I never could be. But that’s the point…” The words caught in his throat as he fought to keep the tears at bay. “…that’s the whole point. Who you _thought_ I was, is who I _want_ to be.”

Belle had tears in her eyes too us Rumple finished his story. She didn’t understand, and yet she did understand. Feelings and half-remembered dreams shifted in her subconscious.

_I’m not that man, I never could be. But that’s the point. Who you thought I was, is who I want to be_.

_Oh Rumple. You already are_.

Belle moved closer to him and gazed into his big eyes, as if she was searching for something. For someone…

“If…if you could,” said Belle quietly, “if you could change now…would you?”

“For _you_ …I would be the best man I can be,” Rumple swore. “I-I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes.”

“No more can I. I’m not perfect.”

“You’re perfect for me. If you’ll have me, I promise to spend every day for the rest of my life living up to your dreams.”

Belle smiled, shaking her head. “Dreams aren’t real, and I want what’s real. I want you. The real you. Not better, or different. Just Rumplestiltskin.”

Too overwhelmed to speak Rumple nodded. Belle cupped his weathered cheek in her hand and leaned forward. Their lips met in a tender kiss. Rumple closed his eyes, allowing Belle’s light to sweep through him. He could feel the scales peel away, from his lips first and then spread outwards across his face, leaving behind smooth tanned skin. He heard the voices of the Dark One’s screaming at him, that his efforts were for naught, that any second Belle would pull away once she remembered, but Rumple focused instead on Belle, the feeling of her lips on his and his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

_Come back to me, Belle. Please wake up. I love you. I need you. Our child needs you. Wake up, my darling Belle. Please come back to me_.

The room filled with blinding white light; through the windows and from their still entwined forms until it engulfed them all and everything vanished. When it cleared Rumple and Belle were standing, still entwined, oblivious to the change or the fact that they were once more wearing the clothes they’d been wearing before they went under.

Belle’s eyes flew open and she pulled back enough to break contact with his lips. His glowing lips. White light was shining from Rumple’s skin. Rumple opened his glittering brown eyes. In them she saw hope and fear; the lingering feeling of dread that this happy moment will be ripped away from him and yet still daring to hope.

Belle beamed, her eyes filling with happy tears at the sight of her True Love, of what he did to free her from her curse, “Rumple!”

“Yes!” Rumple sobbed, his own tears falling unashamedly down his face. “It’s me, Belle!”

They hugged tightly. The light within Rumple shone brighter.

“You’re here,” she breathed, burying her face in his shoulder. “You came for me.”

“I’ll always come back to you, Belle,” Rumple whispered. He felt her tremble in his arms and held her tighter, running his hand through her hair to sooth her, rocking her gently back and forth.

“I’m so sorry. That was horrible. I was so alone…so lost. Thank you. Thank you for being my light.”

“Thank you for being mine.”

They pulled apart.

“My father?” Belle asked.

“I’m sorry, Belle,” said Rumple apologetically.

Belle sighed, looking let down but not surprised. “I hoped his love for me could overcome his hate for you. Did he know I was pregnant?”

“He refused to wake you because I was your husband. I don’t know what he would’ve done if he knew you were carrying my child.”

That’s what had scared Rumple the most. Would Moe have left his daughter under the sleeping curse permanently? Or would he have gotten rid of their baby?

“If he doesn’t want to know his grandchild, that’s his loss,” said Belle resolutely.

She was taking it well. He had expected denial, that her father wouldn’t do such a thing. But after all, Moe did once try to erase Belle’s memories, robbing her of her identity because he couldn’t handle his daughter falling in love with a beast. And yet she had forgiven him.

“You’re not disappointed?” Rumple asked.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“You didn’t want me to wake you. You wanted your father.”

“Oh Rumple…”

“It wasn’t worth darkening your soul…just to save me.” 

Belle cupped his cheek and wiped away a tear that had leaked out of the corner of his eye. “Hades tricked me,” she said softly. “He wanted this to happen and I played right into his hands. I would’ve lost you either way, just like you would’ve with Bae. I would’ve lost you to darkness or the River of Lost Souls. Our child would’ve been left fatherless. And for what? To be a hero. To save a man who proved he would’ve killed you if he had the chance. And I gave him that chance. Worse, I went to Zelena for help. And look how that turned out.”

“Compared to the bad decisions I’ve made, I wouldn’t torture yourself, Belle.”

“Call it even?”

“Deal.”

They smiled at each other. Belle took in the glow of Rumple’s skin. “Your curse…”

Rumple examined his hands. “Our kissed worked. The darkness has become light. It’s as it was before Nimue contaminated it. And it brought you back to me. True Love can overcome anything.”

Belle reached up and fiddled with a chain around her neck. Pulling it out Rumple saw her wedding ring hanging from it.

“You kept it?” he whispered.

“Just in case.”

Suddenly realising where they were standing, Belle, looked around.

“Where exactly are we?”

Rumple tore his gaze away from Belle to look around. They weren’t in the temple, but in a dark cave tunnel. He felt he should’ve realised it when they’d opened their eyes and Belle wasn’t lying on an altar and he wasn’t on the floor.

“No,” he muttered frantically. “No, this is wrong. We should be in the Temple of Morpheus.”

“But I’m awake,” said Belle. “Whatever Zelena’s curse did to me, that’s gone. I’m me. I’m awake.”

“Unless we’re still dreaming.”

“If this is a dream…whose dream is it?”

“Mine,” said a voice from right behind them. “It’s mine.”

Rumple and Belle turned. Morpheus stood there, moving into the light.

So the kiss _did_ work; Rumple had woken Belle from her dream and turned the darkness into light in the process. But if they were awake how can the God of Dreams pull them into his own. He had influence over dreams, not reality.

“Morpheus,” said Rumple.

“The God of Dreams,” said Belle.

“Why am I still here?” Morpheus looked sad, distressed and seemed to be talking to himself. “You’re together, your kiss worked and I’m still here!”

“What do you mean?” said Rumple.

Morpheus didn’t answer. His calm demeanour had gone; there were tears in his eyes, and there was self-hatred and self-loathing in his face, as if he had let them down badly. Not the characteristics you would associate with a God. Rumple knew the signs. It was like looking in the mirror.

“You’re not Morpheus, are you?” said Belle.

The man who had just saved them shook his head. “No. I’m sorry for the deception, but my conditioning doesn’t leave much room for loopholes.”

“Loopholes…” Belle whispered.

“Who are you?” said Rumple.

“You know who I am. You used the sands to enter Belle’s Dreamworld…but the sands sprinkled on me too.”

Rumple gasped, staggering a little. Belle’s gripped his arm so tightly that had they been awake she would have left bruises.

“You’re our son,” Rumple breathed.

Their son smiled at his dumbstruck, overwhelmed parents. “Hello father. Hello mother.”

“Our son,” Belle whispered in a choked voice.

She extended her arm, reaching for him and their boy didn’t need any further encouragement. Within seconds he had covered the distance between them and all three of them were hugging. The Gold’s together.

Rumple could’ve happily spent forever holding his wife and child, but they were still dreaming and their son was in reality no more than a cluster of cells at the moment.

Their son pulled back to smile at his father, his brown eyes full of love and pride. “Thank you, for fighting for us.”

Rumple nodded and choked, “I would do anything for you, son.”

He nodded and closed his eyes as Rumple wiped a stray tear away with the pad of his thumb.

“Thank you for believing in me.”

“Always.”

Belle beamed at her boys. “But how can you be here? You’re only two weeks old. You don’t even have a heartbeat yet.”

“Time travel’s always been possible in dreams. And I…I wanted to see you. Both of you. Figured you two could use some help. What’re sons for, right?”

Belle smiled. The something their son said earlier hit her. “What did you mean ‘I’m still here’? Where are we?”

Their son’s smile vanished. He swallowed, looking around the cave as if it were a cage. “This is where she took me,” he said.

Belle went pale, even Rumple felt the all too familiar sick plummeting feeling in his stomach. “No,” she shook her head frantically. This was just another nightmare left over by the curse. “No, the contract is destroyed. You’re safe now.”

“Your legal claim is safe. I’m still your son. But that won’t stop people trying to hurt me or take me away.”

“Why would anyone want to hurt you?”

“Apart from me being the child of Rumplestiltskin?” He flashed his father an apologetic look that Rumple forgave in an instant. “Zelena took Snow White and Prince Charming’s baby because he was the child of the Truest Love. And his sister’s the Saviour. I’m the product of one of the rarest, greatest sources of True Love ever to live. And the son of the Dark One. That makes me unique. I thought if I could get you back together I could stop it from happening. You’re strongest together. But it didn’t work. She’s still going to take me.”

“Who is it, son?” said Rumple urgently.

“Tell us,” Belle beseeched him. “Please. We can stop them. Please, sweetheart, tell us. Who is it?”

Their son was shaking, like there was an internal battle going on inside him. He wanted to tell them, they could see it plain as day, but something wouldn’t let him. His mouth didn’t seem to want to form the name of his abductor. And it was causing him great pain. Rumple recognised the symptoms; of one battling against a command enforced upon them and, no matter how hard he fought, was powerless to disobey.

“I-I can’t,” their son panted, as if he’d been running, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I can’t, she’s forbidden me to speak it. I’m sorry. I failed.”

“No. No, you didn’t,” said Belle, holding his face tenderly in her hands. “You didn’t fail us, sweetie.”

“You saved us, son,” Rumple reminded him, stroking the back of his neck. “Now it’s our turn to save you.”

“I’m afraid,” their boy sobbed. He looked so scared and vulnerable it was heart breaking. “Please don’t let her destroy us.”

“How do we stop her?”

“First, you need to wake up.”

“How?” asked Belle.

That provoked a weak smile. “True Love’s Kiss, of course.”

“But you don’t know us.”

“You’re my mother. I’ve loved you from the moment I was conceived.” He turned to his father. “And how can I not love you? I’ve seen the lengths my father would go to save his family. Even if it means giving up your own life or your own happiness. Because he love us. How can I do any less?”

Their son looked at his parents like he was trying to memorise them by heart. He pulled them close so that their foreheads rested together. It had been Rumple and Belle’s favourite way of expressing love without words.

“I love you both,” he whispered. “Save me.”

Then he raised his head and kissed them both.

 

Rumple and Belle woke with a start, back in the temple, Belle lying on the altar, Rumple gripping its edge to remain standing. Belle shot up with a gasp, clutching her stomach and Rumple steadied her.

“Belle, are you all right?” said Rumple anxiously.

Belle took several deep breaths, trying to process everything that had happened. “That was our son,” she said. “We just saw our son…grown up.”

“Indeed.” It made it all so real now.

“Someone’s going to take him.” Belle burst into tears and covered her mouth with her hand. Rumple put his arm around her while she cried. “Is this always going to be our life? Every time we find each other, fate keeps ripping us apart? We just got him back and they’re going to take him from us -”

“Belle, Belle, listen to me. No one is going to take our son away from us.”

“You saw him, Rumple. Even together we couldn’t save him.”

“Belle, even if that’s true, that hasn’t happened yet. He’s right here,” he placed his hand on hers covering her stomach, “safe inside of you. And I promise we will take every necessary precaution to make sure he stays safe. I lost one son, Belle. I won’t lose another.”

“He’s just a baby.”

“A child of light and dark. The perfect weapon.”

“Our child is _not_ a weapon!” said Belle angrily.

“Zelena used Baby Neal as a potion ingredient and created Baby Robin to hurt her sister. Regina would’ve killed Emma because she was the key to breaking her curse. Every child has the potential for good and evil. The Charmings tried to cut away Emma’s potential for darkness, but she still ended up the Dark One.”

“Who’d want to hurt him?”

“I have a theory, that may be entirely wrong. I just hope Regina wasn’t so stupid as to set her free, for all our sakes.”

“Who?”

“The last person who wanted to destroy everyone’s Happy Endings.”

“The Evil Queen!” Belle gasped. “How?”

“Let’s just say Jekyll and Hyde really are now just Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.”

“But, Rumple, the Evil Queen?”

Yes, the Evil Queen was bad enough, but an Evil Queen with no love in her heart, no inhibiters? And if it wasn’t her…who could be worse than the Evil Queen? Or the Wicked Witch? And as for Hyde…

“We can’t stay here,” said Rumple. “Let’s go home. We can discuss this better on home turf.”

Belle allowed him to help her down off the altar. Her heart sank as she realised. “We don’t know his name!” She looked mortified. “I’m his mother and I don’t even know my own son’s name. Never bothered to ask.”

“Belle, we’re the ones who give him his name,” said Rumple gently. “Though maybe not after someone who’s passed. Honourable as the sentiment is, it’s a lot of expectation to place on someone, to live up to their namesake.”

Belle looked at him, eyes full of fear. “I can’t lose him, Rumple.”

“You won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You’re his mother. I’m his father. Just let them try.”

Belle smiled weakly. Then she pulled out her wedding ring from its chain. She tugged it free and held it out to Rumple, who took it.

“I feel I should say something profound.”

Belle laughed and held out her hand. Rumple slid the ring back on her finger and kissed it.

“First things first,” he said, straightening up, “I think we need to discuss code words.”

Belle looked excited. “Like one of Henry’s Operations?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of security questions so we don’t get Cora’d.”

Belle raised an eyebrow.

“Henry’s term, not mine. We don’t want an imposter anywhere near our son or, worse, getting their hands on the dagger.” Rumple paused. “What shall we name our Operation, sweetheart?”

“Chip,” said Belle without hesitation.

Rumple grinned. He liked it. It worked on so many levels. Chip for their chipped cup, for their little teacup growing inside her and the perfect cover for pregnancy cravings.

Maybe even a potential baby name.

“Operation Chip it is!”

With that he pulled the Apprentice’s wand out of his suit jacket and waved it, opening the portal back to Storybrooke. They looked at each other and clasped hands.

“Let’s go save our son,” said Belle.

Rumple nodded. “Together.”

And hand in hand, they walked through the portal.

Mr and Mrs Gold.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t dislike the name Gideon, but the circumstances in which it was given and the origin of its name ruined it for me. But I kept it as a middle name. 
> 
> “Chip” is a nickname for Charlie or Christopher. Charlie sounded better. Not only is it not named after someone who’s died or a storybook character, but it was a lovely nod to Charlie Pace from LOST and Charlie Hume, son of Desmond and Penny. Plus, it was such a missed opportunity not to use such a reference from Beauty and the Beast.


End file.
